Chuck Brannan to face November opponent in HD 10

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 1/5/23-Rep. Chuck Brannan III, R-Macclenny, during the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee, Thursday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

Voters in a deeply Republican House district in North Florida will have a Democratic option on the ballot in November, should they want it.

Live Oak’s Robert “Bobby” J. Brady Jr. qualified to oppose Rep. Chuck Brannan in House District 10, which includes Baker, Bradford, Columbia and Union counties, as well as some of Alachua County.

While the district is 55% Republican, suggesting it’s an unlikely one to be flipped, Brady is betting that despite having moved to the area in the last year from Tampa, he can make some headway in a “predominately Republican” district against Brannan.

Brady describes himself as a “conservative Democrat” and is depicting Brannan as a puppet of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“I know this guy has a 40-point lead over me and he has money and he has everything in the world and he is a rubber stamp for whatever the Governor wants him to do, you know. No real backbone. Never, never any, ‘Well, gee, let me put the people first’ or at least that I’ve seen,” said Brady, a native of Connecticut who moved to the district last Summer.

Brady, a shiitake mushroom farmer by trade who voted for Ronald Reagan for President and was a National Rifle Association member, differentiates himself from other members of his party, and is betting that voters will recognize that.

“If you’re branded a Democrat that means that, ‘Oh no, you’re into transvestites and crazy things.’ But that’s just not the case,” Brady said.

Brady has one issue to reconcile between now and November, and that’s securing a homestead in the district.

“I will be looking for another piece of land currently to, you know, to plant and stuff. So I’m sure I will be there before the election,” he said.

He’s not certain if he will change his homestead exemption to reflect that move, however.

Brannan has the financial advantage in the early going, with more than $20,000 cash on hand of $47,350 raised this cycle. Brady raised $1,200 in his first month as a candidate.